Page 64 of Prudence
“That’s how you know it’s real,” she said before Derek returned with our drinks.
“Thank you,” I murmured as he handed me the gin and tonic, our fingers brushing and causing a spark of awareness to rush through me. His expression sobered as he studied me, “Are you okay?” Clearly, he’d noticed how his sister’s words had affected me. There was a lot going on inside my head.
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t look convinced, but then his phone buzzed with a text, distracting his attention. I watched as a slow smile spread across his face, and then he held his phone out for Nuala to read. Her eyes quickly scanned the message before she burst into a delighted squeal. “Oh, my goodness!”
“What’s going on?” I asked, perplexed, before Derek explained. “Rhys just texted me. Charli went into labour about an hour ago.”
“I’m going to get to cuddle a newborn soon,” Nuala cheered. “I can’t wait.”
“What’s all this about a newborn?” Tristan asked, Nuala’s excitement having garnered his and Aidan’s attention.
“Charli’s having her baby,” Nuala explained. “She’s gone into labour.”
“Oh, score! If it’s a boy, they better name him after me,” Tristan joked while Nuala rolled her eyes.
“If it’s a boy, they’re naming him after Rhys’ uncle, Eugene, and if it’s a girl, they’re naming her after Aunt Nadine.”
Nuala had once confided in me how her Aunt Nadine had died right after Charli was born and that Charli had grown up never knowing who her real birth mother was. It had all come out when she was eighteen. Apparently, it was a tough time for the entire family.
“I love babies,” one of the brunettes that Tristan had been chatting up said with a flirtatious smile, and he threw his arm around her shoulders. “They’re so cute.”
“You’re cuter,” Tristan countered, and Nuala made a disgusted face, which caused me to chuckle.
When I looked up, Derek was smiling down at me, his expression full of tenderness. He stood close enough that our arms brushed every so often. I was hyperaware of each time it happened, my stomach in flurries of nervous tension mixed with excitement. I liked being near him, just existing in the same space. It struck me that I’d never felt that with anyone else. I’d felt attraction, sure, but never the kind of pleasure merely to be in proximity. Derek was the only one who could make me feel that way.
When Alanis finally took to the stage, I let myself get lost in the music. Nuala sang along to all the words, although I could only remember the choruses. I was relieved that Derek didn’t bring up what we’d spoken about in his office earlier that day. I was enjoying being carefree and wasn’t ready to return to serious topics.
When the concert was over, it took us a while to get off the castle grounds, and when everyone was splitting up to go their separate ways, I found myself suddenly alone with Derek.
“I’ll walk you home.”
I rubbed at my overheated skin, a mixture of endorphins from the show and pent-up need from being around him. All night, I couldn’t stop staring at him, the way his shirt hugged his broad shoulders, tapering down to a trim waist.
“You don’t have to.”
“It’s on my way.”
Was it? Technically, Derek’s apartment was on the way to my house, with the addition of a five-minute detour, but heseemed determined to walk with me, so I nodded, and we started our stroll in companionable silence.
“Did you enjoy the concert?” I asked, breaking the quiet.Good, Milly, a nice normal question. So far, I was keeping it together when all the while my brain was shouting at me to tell him how sexy he was and that I was obsessed with his five o’clock shadow and the way his dark hair highlighted the gold notes in his eyes.
“I did. Did you?” The aforementioned eyes met mine, and it was all I could do not to swoon. Why was he so … so … smouldering?
“I had a lot of fun. And I liked that you were there.” Okay, I hadn’t meant to blurt that last part.
A handsome smile slowly shaped his features. “Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Another few moments of quiet elapsed before we finally reached my house. I’d made it. God bless my self-restraint for holding onto decorum and not throwing myself at him. I dug in my bag for my keys while stepping up to my front door.
“Well, thank you for walking me home. Good—”
Before I could finish Derek said, “I should come in, check out the finished repair work.”
Oh, no. This was dangerous. Suddenly, my mouth was parched. “Um, it’s a little late.”
